Law of Inverse Fertility
by Hebi-Kazechi-10
Summary: "It's okay, Kou-chan," he murmured. "We're not in a hurry for kids, anyway." With that, Kou, or more regularly known as Gou, gave a nod as she tried to smile at her husband, "Yeah, you're right, Haru-kun. Maybe next time." He nodded as well, "Yes, maybe next time." Future/Established!AU (where they're all adults), companion fic to Tutoring. Pairing: HaruGou and a few others.


**Another Free! fic, but for once, not a predominantly SeiMako one (though SeiMako IS included here! :D). This fic is a companion fic to **Tutoring** However, you don't have to necessarily read that one before this. :)**

**HaruGou is one of my most favourite hetero ships in Free! (alongside MakoGou and ReiGou). So I wanted to write something for those two, though I must say...it took me a while to write this one. .**

**WARNING: Serious and slightly touchy subject and unusual pairings. **

**Happy reading~**

* * *

A cerulean eye was half opened once the sound of a door shut quietly. With that, the dark-haired man in the bed gave a slow blink before slightly rising up; sitting rather than lying down.

For a little while, he gazed at the door that was a bit opposite from the massive bed, his calm orbs fixated upon the wooden surface. However, even then, he craned his head slightly to the left having observed the door for enough minutes or so.

That was when his eyes fell upon several photo frames that were lined upon the dresser.

Each one seemed to glow to him – what with the smiling faces and the bright eyes that peered right back at him. After surveying them for a bit, he picked a particular one up, and stared down at it.

It was the portrait of a wedding; there was a church behind the group of people in it, after all.

There, he saw at one side, three men – one with golden hair, rosy eyes and wearing a white suit, was beaming. Beside him were two other men, also clad in white suits – one had sapphire locks and red glasses that were smartly perched on his face, and the other had magenta tresses, and was grinning sharp, white fangs.

On the other side, there were four people. A young couple – the boy had silver hair and he shyly smiled at the camera with a young lady with brown hair and a beautiful beam right by his side. There were two other men as well – one stood tall and proud with a large grin on his face; his scarlet hair somewhat spiky, and his golden eyes glittered. He also had his arm around the waist of the other man – who was quite tall himself, and was smiling gently at the camera with glowing green orbs. There were two children there as well: the girl standing by the groom's elbow, while the boy was standing by the bride's.

And in the middle were the bride and groom themselves.

The groom was also wearing a white suit, but with blue cuffs and a black bow-tie. He gazed at the camera with intense, glowing sapphire eyes, and for once, his usually serious and stoic face had a small smile detected there. He had one hand that was softly, yet assuredly placed around the bride's waist, bringing her closer to his being.

The bride herself was too beautiful for words, really. Her smile…her eyes that were slightly teary during the event…her eyes…

He wasn't sure how long he was staring down at the photo for, as he began reminiscing about what had happened not too long ago, but that was when the door's creaking reached his ears – signalling that it was being opened.

And sure enough, the bride from the picture, though not in her dress and veil anymore, exited from the bathroom.

And her tired face was etched in disappointment.

Not liking the expression on her face, the dark-haired man put the photo back down on its place, and propped himself up a bit more on the bed. Seeing the strip in the woman's hand, he began to understand where the disappointment was coming from. With that, he questioned, "Negative?"

She nodded, "Yeah…"

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't disappointed himself from the news. However, he wasn't in a hurry, either. He got up from the bed and made his way to her. Holding her hand with one of his own while the other stroked some loose fuchsia bangs out of her eyes, he planted a small kiss to her temple. "It's okay, Kou-chan," he murmured. "We're not in a hurry for kids, anyway."

With that, Kou, or more regularly known as Gou, gave a nod as she tried to smile at her husband, "Yeah, you're right, Haru-kun. Maybe next time."

He nodded as well, "Yes, maybe next time."

It was later that day, while they were about to have lunch together that would consist of mackerels and some rice and pineapple (Gou had tried some before in their high school years, and she was highly surprised that it didn't taste as bad as she initially thought), there was a knock on the door. When Gou came to open it, she was almost toppled over when a loud voice cried ecstatically, "Gou-chan!"

Gou heaved a sigh as she rubbed her temple, "I give up with you…"

The blonde from the photo, Nagisa, grinned happily as the other people who were accompanying him, also greeted her, and made their way into the house to greet the man of it, too.

"Haru-chan!" Nagisa called as he skipped over to hug the black-haired man. "How you doing?"

Haruka heaved a sigh himself – he never did like being referred to with that honorific; it was too childish and cutesy for him. But as the years drew on by, he found that Gou's method of giving up on it, when it came to Nagisa, was the only best way out of it. He simply gave a nod as he continued to grill the mackerel in the pan, "Fine."

"Mackerel, huh?" the tall redhead, Seijuurou, arched an eyebrow as he suddenly peered from over Haruka's head. "You sure love your mackerel, huh, Nanase?"

His olive-haired companion gave a chuckle, "It's his favourite thing to eat. Haruka would eat it day in and day out." He then smiled at him, "So, how are you, Haru-chan?"

Haruka almost sighed again at being referred to with that little suffix, but he simply shut his eyes as he gave a nod, "Fine, Makoto." He then looked at the two taller men with that same stoic expression, "The both of you?"

"Doing really great!" Seijuurou grinned as he gave bark-like laughter along with a thumbs-up. His free arm was then wrapped around the green-eyed man's waist, to which, said green-eyed man was flushing a little at – his cheeks now rosy red. However, with the look on his face, anyone could tell that despite how shy he was, he quite liked the affection and attention he was given.

To which, Haruka couldn't help but feel some amusement at.

"Gou," the man who bore resemblances to the magenta-haired woman came forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.

The bespectacled, blue-haired man also gave a nod, "Good morning, Gou."

Though she was referred to by that name again, she decided not to say anything about it – she gave that up back in high school. Still, she was happy at seeing them as she gave the fuchsia-haired man a hug, "Hello there, _onii-chan_! Hello there, Rei-kun."

Seeing that now everybody was seated at the dining table, Haruka stared at the extra company for a little bit more in slight contemplation, before making his way to the pantry and the fridge, "Looks like I need more mackerel…"

It wasn't really out of the norm to have everyone come to Haruka and Gou's house unannounced. Still, it would've been somewhat preferable if they were alerted first-hand. That way, the both of them wouldn't look so ruffled and actually prepare things around properly, and maybe Haruka would still have a large number of mackerel for himself and Gou.

Still, it was nice to have them around.

During the meal of mackerel, rice and pineapple, Haruka seated himself at the head of the table beside the magenta-haired woman before remarking after realizing, "I don't see Aiichirou or Hana."

"Yeah, speaking of which, where _are _they, anyway?" Nagisa asked, a little surprised himself.

"They went out," Rin, Gou's _onii-chan_, responded before his sharp teeth sunk into the mackerel. Haruka always wondered how Rin's teeth became like that – they certainly weren't like that when they were children at Iwatobi elementary; they were only fangs back then…

Makoto himself looked a bit freaked out at Rin's teeth sinking right into the fish, to which Seijuurou had planted a hand on his thigh and patted it a little as a sort of means to soothe him. The olive-haired man gave a sheepish smile, though he appeared rather glad at the gesture.

Haruka couldn't help but inwardly snicker.

"Went out? Where?" asked Nagisa, looking really eager to hear the details.

"I'm wondering about that, too," spoke up Seijuurou thoughtfully. "Ain't that common for Ai-chan not to be here when Rin's around."

"He wanted to spend some time with Hana-chan," spoke up Gou this time, matter-of-factly – of course _she'd _know: she and Hana were best friends, after all.

"Really?" Rei arched an eyebrow. "Wow…I dare say that things are starting to get quite serious between the two of them."

"I ain't surprised," Rin answered back. "Whenever Gou came around with Hana at Samezuka, Ai-chan wouldn't stop staring at her."

"Kinda like when Sei-chan wouldn't stop staring at Gou-chan back then?" questioned Nagisa.

"Yeah, kinda like that," Rin said back, though his tone sounded a little dark and gloomy upon saying that. He even shot an equally dark look with his crimson eyes at the redhead sitting opposite him.

Seijuurou, instead of getting freaked out, gave a good-natured laugh as he shook his head, "Well, well, well…looks like little Ai-chan's growing up! I'm quite proud of him – hope he becomes happy like us."

"Indeed," Makoto spoke up with a gentle smile. This time, it was he who placed a hand on Seijuurou's thigh, though he didn't squeeze or pat it or anything. To this action, Seijuurou responded by placing a hand on top of his, eventually resulting in the two hands intertwining and gripping each other.

Gou had seen it with Haruka this time – the two exchanged a sidewards glance, and for that, the woman couldn't help but give a little giggle, which caused the corners of Haruka's lips to twitch slightly upwards from the action.

"What about me?" whined Nagisa, as he pouted and pointed at everyone at the table. "Everyone's got someone! Ai-chan and Hana-chan are getting serious, Rei-chan's with Rin-Rin-chan, Sei-chan and Mako-chan are living together, and Gou-chan and Haru-chan are happily married!"

"Don't blame us for having an odd number of friends," Rin responded quite bluntly.

Rei nodded as he this time, crossed his arms over his chest in what seemed to be satisfaction from the magenta-haired male's statement, "Yes. Since nine friends will only equal four pairings, naturally, one will inevitably get left out."

"You can still third wheel," offered Seijuurou, seeing that the blonde looked a bit distressed.

"Hey, yeah!" Nagisa seemed to perk up at that; his being seemed to brighten at the redhead's suggestion.

"_Don't _give him any ideas," Rin warned, glowering at Seijuurou who simply gave a half-hearted shrug.

However, Nagisa then rubbed his chin as he began to think aloud, "Hmm…who could I third wheel? Well…Haru-chan and Gou-chan are _married_, so I think it'd be wrong to third wheel them…" to this, Gou sighed in relief with a hand on her chest, and even Haruka himself seemed to relax a bit more upon hearing that. "Mako-chan and Sei-chan disappear sometimes…" Makoto's face instantly burst into a rosy red upon hearing that, while Seijuurou simply grinned widely as he wrapped his arm around his green-eyed lover's waist and planted a kiss to his cheek, to which Makoto smiled weakly at.

"Oh, hell no!" Rin snarled. "You are _not _third-wheeling anything with me in it!"

"And Rin-Rin-chan's kinda scary," said Nagisa. "Though he and Rei-chan are good company, too!"

"_Please_ don't tell me that you're seriously considering third-wheeling…" began Rei, only to be cut off.

But instead of Nagisa, it was Makoto who spoke up. He turned his head to face the man and woman of the house as he questioned, "So, how are things doing here?"

"Hey, yeah," Seijuurou agreed. "You two've been married for almost five months now! Almost half a year – any plans on having kids?"

Here, the whole table immediately became silent upon the question as the visiting pairs of eyes fixed upon the man and woman of the house.

When it came to the subject of having kids, Haruka used to be unsure of the matter. Back at high school, he was focused primarily on the present – because he knew, from his dearly departed grandmother's words, that once he left school and became twenty, he would finally be normal. There, he knew that he had to take his life into his hands and choose a path to go on; whether to continue his affection with the water, or to give up and place his love elsewhere.

What he didn't expect however, was to already have some of that love transfer onto Gou as the years passed by, but now here he was, married to her.

Though he still loved the water and would get excited (or at least as excited as he could seem to be) whenever he saw a body of it sparkle or waver softly at him, or when Gou offered for the both of them to walk on the beach's sandy shores nearby, and even take a dip in the sea so often, Haruka found that waking up with her right next to him, or clinging onto him was an equally lovely sight and warm experience to behold.

But now, since he was already past the age where becoming ordinary sunk in, Haruka, though still focused on the present, found his mind began to wander every so often to the future. This particular subject of kids made him wonder about what it was like to start a family. He was of course associated with children – since he sometimes helped Makoto look after the twins, Ren and Ran when Mr and Mrs Tachibana were either working late or had somewhere important to go. However, there was one single fact that made Haruka wonder even more about the future.

It's that the children wouldn't be his siblings, they'd be _his _children. His children with Gou; a product created from the love that he and Gou had for each other.

It was after marriage that their actions took a more intimate and steamy turn, but the thought of children didn't cross his mind during then – instead, all his focus was on Gou and how beautiful she looked, how lovely she smelled, and the sounds she made causing him to suddenly become more driven and wilder.

Gou herself blushed a little bit upon the mention of kids – in truth, she always wanted some. She remembered when she was a kid, she would proudly proclaim that she and her _onii-chan _would be getting married and have their own family when they became older. Rin himself, though embarrassed at first, didn't seem to mind the idea, either.

Of course, today that was a rather funny and cute story Gou liked to share when friends found the time to exchange childhood stories. Though Rin himself was highly ashamed and embarrassed whenever that story was brought up.

During her high school years, Gou became the manager of Iwatobi's swim club, so her idea of romance was automatically put on hold. After all; just because she had a love for muscles and ogled the guys every so often when they walked around shirtless, didn't mean that she had to slack off from her duties. She focused on improving the boys' times and condition, as well as calculating the expenses for any equipment, as well as consult Makoto, then later, Seijuurou, about other ideas for training regimes. So of course, with her duties upfront, romance and relationships never came to mind.

The times when Gou hung out with Hana however, made her remember about that little aspect. Hana, though cheerful and happy with life, had fantasized a few times about finding a nice and sweet boyfriend that they could go on dates, then maybe eventually get married and have a family. Such instances made Gou's mind wander onto that more complicated area of relationships.

Though Gou was sometimes called weird and strange around the school by rather noticeably jealous groups of girls for hanging around with the swim club boys quite frequently, she was mocked for being able to be friends with boys, but to never be able to _attract _one.

Hana responded in a rather fever-pitched shriek at first, but Gou simply shrugged it off – after all, she wasn't really looking for a relationship just then; what mattered to her was her studies, and having her friends in top condition, as well as them being happy.

Sadly, probably from hearing about the event from Hana, Nagisa began becoming more affectionate towards her – running and jumping onto Gou and squealing her name happily in such a loud voice that everyone would stare at them weirdly. Rei would even offer to carry her bag a few times, and continuously opened doors for her. Also, when Samezuka began to have joint practices at Iwatobi, whenever Seijuurou had spoken to her, she noticed winked at her a couple of times, causing her to either have her mind go blank for a moment, or for her to snap, "Come on! Be serious!" while Makoto stood awkwardly nearby with his hands clasped to his front, and his emerald eyes fixed to the floor – a bit too silent for comfort.

Rin however had angrily death glared at _any _boy who so much as stood a meter's distance from her, causing them to run for the hills. Some even looked close to wetting themselves when the magenta-haired boy bared his shark-like teeth at them.

Now that Gou thought about it; that was probably more of the reason why romance really never dwelled on her back in high school.

Still, that didn't mean that love would just lay in wait until it was a suitable time for her.

It was on one particular day that she decided to stay back at the pool to just dip her legs in for a little bit. It was alright at first, since it was just Haruka there, and he'd usually be swimming laps around the pool or just immersing himself in the blue expanse for a good while.

What she didn't expect however was for his eyes to fixate upon her for a bit.

It was rather odd at first; seeing those calm, cerulean orbs gaze from the corner of those sharp eyes at her, yet stay as calm as the water itself. She had asked him what was wrong, but he simply responded with a, "Nothing." Yet, she couldn't help but feel that his eyes were trailing around and following her for the remaining time she spent there.

Gou had simply disregarded it at first as just Haruka being Haruka – he wasn't used to having company around him, after all. And the company that he _did _have was quite small. He seemed more at peace with that small company in the water than with many people on dry land.

Still, as the days began to pass, it became a bit odd to her that his eyes started to follow her around and focus solely on her throughout swimming practice when he wasn'tdoing laps in the pool or just hanging around during or after school. And it was on another day when she decided to dip her legs in as well, when he actually broke the once calming silence with his cool voice.

"_**Kou-chan, why don't you just enter the pool and swim?"**_

It completely caught her off guard at first, but after he repeated his question, embarrassed, Gou confessed of her lack of athleticism, and that it wouldn't help her to swim, anyway.

"_**You don't have to be a good swimmer to enter a pool. As long as you enjoy the water, then there shouldn't be a problem."**_

Easy for him to say, really. Though then again, Rei was similar: though he could swim the butterfly, it was the _only _stroke he could do without causing him to suddenly sink. She lost count of the number of times that Makoto and Nagisa had dived into the pool to save the bespectacled boy. One time on a beach escapade, Seijuurou himself even leapt into the sea with his experience as a lifeguard, upon seeing Rei flail around (to which Rin described as amusingly pathetic), and _almost _conducted CPR on him, had it not been for Rei gaining consciousness and screaming bloody murder at seeing the redhead's face so close to his.

The little meetings that Gou had with Haruka after practice when she'd just dip her legs into the water while he just swam around continued, though. Little by little, he began to speak more, and little by little, she learnt more about him. And every new piece of him that she learnt, no matter how small or odd it was, she found herself liking.

When her big brother was studying in preparation for a TOEFL test, Haruka and Makoto also had an English presentation coming up that constituted for _quite _a number of marks towards the final grade. Funnily enough, during that time, Makoto, after talking to Aiichirou, had gone up to Seijuurou to request for his tutoring. Seijuurou, being the nice guy that he was, despite how strict he was with his team, was more than happy to help out. Though Makoto also offered Haruka Seijuurou's tutoring services, the black-haired boy politely declined, and instead, asked Rin for his help. Much to Gou's surprise and delight; her big brother accepted.

A few times, Gou would come to the Samezuka dorms to pay her big brother a visit, as well as give him some extra food that their mother cooked at home, and during those times, she'd see her brother not only study for his TOEFL test, but also tutor Haruka with English. Though noticeably, despite being welcomed warmly by her brother and acknowledged by Haruka, it was noted that the sapphire-eyed boy seemed to have divided attentions when she sat beside him as her brother wrote some phrases on a mini whiteboard that Aiichirou provided.

However, upon the day before the English presentation, Rin had gone to answer his phone as it apparently received an email message in regards to his TOEFL test. For that, he stepped outside the dorm room, leaving Haruka and Gou alone. And it was at this time, that Haruka spoke, and the two engaged in the simple conversation they both shared many times before at the pool after practice, and everyone left but the two of them.

Before she knew it, she laughed when he recalled when Rin had accidentally called the swimming instructor _'mom'_, and she told him about a little story that involved her wanting to marry him when she was a child.

Even Haruka had a soft, small smile that was etched onto his usually stoic and serious face.

Upon gazing at it, Gou couldn't help the blush that crept onto her face. Though Haruka didn't smile often, it didn't mean that he lacked feelings – he just had a better way of concealing them. Still, it was hard to describe how she felt upon seeing him be a bit more expressive. Yet, the feeling was quite…uplifting in a way. Fresh, calming, soothing, reassuring. Just from seeing that smile.

However, from her stare and lack of a response, Haruka had initially thought that something was amiss, to which he questioned. Gou immediately snapped out from her slight stupor upon the question, to which she gave a small chuckle that caused a slight arch of one of his eyebrows.

"_**You have a lovely smile, Haruka-senpai. Really, you do."**_

His azure orbs had widened quite a bit from that statement, but upon seeing how sincere she was, they settled down a bit while his heart started to pick up on speed a little.

"_**You have a beautiful smile, too, Kou-chan."**_

She was quite flattered from what he said, but Gou didn't expect the next thing that he did.

"_**In fact, everything about you is beautiful."**_

And with that, he suddenly came much closer, and she felt something soft and warm capture her lips.

It took her a while to realize that Haruka was kissing her, but when she finally realized _what_ was happening, to say she was shocked was an understatement. No, she was downright _astonished_. Still, she found herself not resisting as he then wrapped his arms around her, holding her smaller frame much closer to his more muscular form. She could feel his firm muscles even though it was beneath the shirt, and her mind buzzed around at first as her heart began to beat faster.

When could such warm and passionate feelings even start? Those little times that they spent together, hanging out at the pool after swim practice would most likely be a definite start. Hearing about _him,_ Haruka Nanase, as a person, rather than him as a swimmer, definitely opened her eyes and provided more insight of what he was really like.

That again, despite having a seemingly serious and blank disposition – that some would argue as cool and uncaring – that didn't mean that he lacked feelings altogether. He was just not that good with socializing compared to everyone else: he lacked Nagisa's charisma, Makoto's charm, Rei's communication skills, Seijuurou's forward manner, and Rin's expression. Though Gou realized that Haruka had a gift of observance. Haruka was also brutally honest, but with that same mindset, lying to someone he cared about just to make them happy rather than have them face the truth was a much bigger and more painful blow. He had admitted that he was a selfish person at times: only paying attention if it was something that he liked or was interested in.

However, those who he loved; who he cared about, Gou knew that they became a priority to him ever since he had lost to her brother before in the regionals, and that notion had rose even more after the relay medley at nationals. Haruka was definitely flawed, but who wasn't? It was what made him how he was today, and she loved that all the more. And besides, just like everyone else, he had his positives, too.

"_**What the hell?!"**_

Sadly, Rin had caught the two of them in the act, and had Gou not hold onto her brother, Haruka would've most likely ended up ripped to shreds.

The tension between the two boys was horrible the next day at the joint swimming practice with Samezuka. Rin would shoot dirty glares in Haruka's direction, as well as sneer and snarl at him in a more aggressive and agitated tone, whereas he spoke more normally to everyone else on Iwatobi's swim team. It eventually escalated when Makoto asked Gou what had happened last night when Rin was supposed to be tutoring Haruka.

Cue confrontation.

Even when Rin was gritting his teeth inches away from Haruka's face, the dark-haired swimmer wasn't afraid. Instead, he faced Gou's brother head-on, with his sapphire eyes glowing in a resolute manner as he took hold of one of her hands in both of his.

When it became more desperate and Rin looked like he was _really _going to murder Haruka, Gou stood between the two and confronted her brother herself. Seeing him deflate from her words as well as the hurt look in his crimson eyes made her feel guilty, but upon looking at Haruka, she realized that this had to be done as she returned the swimmer's feelings whole-heartedly.

That was when Rin had pulled her out of the building for a talk. Haruka tried to hold her hand more tightly; most likely to possibly stop her from being forced outside, but upon giving him a reassured look, he let go, though his own face was unsure.

* * *

"_So you like him, then?"_

_Gou nodded as she steadily met with her older brother's scowl, "Yes, _onii-chan_. I do like Haruka-senpai that way."_

_Rin heaved a sigh as he pinched between his eyebrows; Gou, despite having quite a fetish for muscles, wouldn't just date someone just because they were well-endowed and a fresh piece of meat for her eyes – he knew that she was someone who was genuine and honest with her feelings. Even if it took her some time to think over it (i.e. the rest of last night), she'd always come clean with her emotions, and act upon them accordingly._

_And right now, her actions told him what he had dreaded._

_That she was finally replacing him with a lover: he was no longer the first and most important man in her life anymore._

_Despite the splitting headache that suddenly took place in his head, Rin kept reassuring himself, _'It could've been worse, it could've been worse, it could've been worse; she could've chosen Nagisa!'

_Though honestly, out of them, Rin wouldn't have minded as much if it was Makoto who she dated – the guy was gentle, patient, knew how to treat people, and would probably listen to what Rin says, as well as rightfully fear him. Rei was a dork around girls, Seijuurou (he believed) had ulterior motives, and Nagisa would cause a headache. Haruka was too detached, emotionless and far too obsessed with water and mackerels to ever be considered a liable candidate for someone as precious as his baby sister._

_But instead, here they were – and his sister and that unlikely candidate ended up having mutual feelings together._

_Seeing that she was unwavering as he tried to convince her that Haruka wasn't the best choice for a boyfriend by pointing out his flaws, she in return agreed with those flaws, but also counteracted that _everyone _had flwas, and even then, Haruka's flaws weren't as horrible as other people's. She then continued by pointing out the positives of his character: that he was strong, honest, and despite concealing his emotions well – cared for his friends' well-being very much._

_It was here, that Rin finally gave up._

_When they came back inside, Gou proudly declared, "_Onii-chan _gave us permission to start dating!"_

_And it was here that Rin noticed Haruka's blue eyes suddenly widen as they began glowing – just like whenever he heard news about a pool. Thus, causing him to scowl as it was then that he realized that his black-haired friend _could _have genuine feelings for his baby sister._

_Still, he was suspicious of how much Haruka was willing to give in the relationship._

* * *

"Kids are a nice idea," surprisingly, it was Haruka himself who responded instead. Gou couldn't help but look at her husband with raised eyebrows as he continued talking, "We've tried once already actually."

"And so? Did it work?" Seijuurou questioned interestedly, though he didn't seem to notice that Rin's scarlet eyes were narrowed dangerously across from him.

Gou this time answered, noticing her brother was emitting a dark and sinister aura, "No; it came back negative."

"Ah," Makoto gave a nod of understanding. "Well, that can't be helped."

"We're not in a hurry for kids, anyway," Haruka spoke up as he ate another mackerel.

"Imagine that!" Nagisa sighed dreamily. "Mini Haru-chan with Gou-chan's hair, and a mini Gou-chan with Haru-chan's eyes! That would be so cute!"

Makoto chuckled, "That _does _sound very cute."

Despite looking nonchalant throughout the whole conversation where everyone was suddenly interested in what his and Gou's child would look like, Haruka was listening _very _closely, and began to wonder about it himself. A boy perhaps that looked like him? Or a girl who resembled her beautiful mother? Perhaps the child will share traits between them: his eyes and Gou's hair, or maybe vice versa.

Whatever gender the child was going to be, or who it took after more, Haruka found that he couldn't wait for the child to enter the world so he could share the water with them.

* * *

Ever since that time everyone had come and discussed about the possibility of what their child would look like, Haruka and Gou tried again and again.

And each time sadly, the pregnancy test came out negative.

Seeing Gou's crestfallen face, Haruka reassured her, despite his own disappointment that everything was okay. He would hold her close, brush away any stray bangs that matted over her crimson eyes as he said over and over again, "It's fine. We're not in a hurry to have kids, anyway. Maybe next time, it'll happen."

To this, she'd respond with a weak smile, and with the same answer, "Yeah. You're right. Maybe next time."

Though things would at first become very passionate and steamy, and the scorching feelings between them would blaze over in a grand inferno of emotions and settle down to a more subdued, yet obvious flame exchanged from kisses and cuddling, the more time that passed by with no results, the more apprehensive and insecure Gou was starting to become, and it was starting to worry Haruka.

It wasn't until a year later that the insecurities and the notion of infertility had taken its toll on Gou. After having a walk on the beach, the couple had spotted a mother who was pushing her child along a pram as they went to get some ice-cream.

Gou hadn't said a word until they finally arrived home. "There must be something wrong with me," she whispered after Haruka shut the door behind her.

He blinked his blue eyes in surprise, but responded flatly soon after, "There is nothing wrong with you."

"Then why are we still childless?" inquired Gou, now getting clearly distraught as she wrung her hands together. "We've been trying for a year _and a half_, Haru-kun, and still, we don't have a child!" she then buried her face in her hands as he form began to shake uncontrollably. "I…there must be something wrong with me…"

The black-haired man sighed as he shook his head, "Kou…"

"We've been trying…and still there's nothing…"

"Kou."

"I'm barren…I…something's wrong with me!"

"_Kou_."

"I must be unable to bear children! I must be infertile!"

"_Gou_!" with that Haruka, immediately clamped his hands firmly onto her shoulders to force her to look at him. She looked up at him with frightened, crimson eyes upon realizing that he didn't address her in the way she was usually accustomed to. Gazing down at her, Haruka could see that drops were immediately gathered at the corner of her eyes; almost ready to spill over. From catching sight of them, his shoulders relaxed as he peered calmly down at his wife. "Kou," he said in a quieter and gentler tone. "There's nothing wrong with you. Definitely not to me."

"B-but…" Gou bit her bottom lip. "W-we've tried so hard to have a child…"

"That's fine," responded Haruka. "It's fine to not have kids right now-"

"You keep saying that," protested Gou. "But what if there _is _something wrong with me, and we can't _ever_ have children because of that?"

"If we can't have children, then that's okay," he replied. "We'll find some other way. Besides, as I mentioned many times before: we're not in a hurry to have children." Seeing her look so unsure and upset, Haruka brought her closer to his frame as he then craned his head over to plant his lips softly at the corner of her eyes – where the tears were. "There's no need to be upset anymore, Kou-chan. I married you because I love you; not because I wanted kids in the first place. So, don't cry anymore."

She gave a sniff at his meaningful words and wiped at her other eye with her arm. She so badly wanted to just leave it there upon hearing such reaffirming words from her husband, however it was her curiosity and need to know that overcame everything. She cleared her throat before speaking up, "I love you, too. But I still want to know. We'll see a health care provider tomorrow."

"Fine," Haruka said. "I'll do the tests with you."

"Haru-kun," the last thing that Gou needed was for her barren results to be placed bare right next to him.

"No buts," said Haruka firmly as his cerulean eyes blazed with a resolute lame. "If it's to show you that there is _nothing _wrong with you or what's happening right now, then I'll do any of the fertility tests with you."

To this, Gou couldn't argue back properly; her husband was very stubborn when it came to something he was determined on – more so than even she was. The fuchsia-haired woman simply gave a silent nod of defeat as she came into the bedroom with her husband following suit. That night as they lay together, she couldn't help but feel so cold and desolate against his warm, beating heart and muscular arms. Though normally she'd be ecstatic upon leaning against such magnificent triceps, tonight was a different story.

She wasn't sure if she could handle the fact that she'd never be able to provide her fresh and thriving husband with a single child. That her womb was barren, and will remain that way for the rest of their lives.

* * *

The next day, the both of them came into the white clinic and waited patiently in the doctor's office. However, during the wait, Haruka could clearly see how tense Gou had become in her seat. Her leg was fidgeting a bit, and he scarlet eyes were fixated on a bunch of magazines that consisted of beaming mothers, whether they were pregnant or holding their laughing child in their arms. The blue-eyed man's scowl deepened upon peering down at them, and so, he slipped his hand in hers and gave it a bit of a squeeze.

Gou almost jumped from it – not realizing that her husband had placed his hand in hers. Turning to face him, she saw that his lips had formed upwards to a small smile that she could catch. A small smile it was, yes, but it caused her to relax her stiff form a bit more, and reassured her that everything was going to be alright.

"Mr and Mrs Nanase?" a soft voice asked.

Haruka couldn't help but still feel his heart skip a slight beat from being addressed in that fashion. Nonetheless, his face was already pulled down to a stoic expression as Gou spoke up for the both of them, "Yes. That's us."

Looking up, they caught sight of a rather short man with rather pale skin, raven hair cut into a short bob-cut, and light brown eyes. He was wearing a white, long-sleeved shirt as well as some dark trousers underneath a white doctor's lab-coat, as well as sporting sensible, enclosed shoes. In one hand held a clipboard, while the other held a pen.

"I am Doctor Honda, the main reproductive endocrinologist," he greeted with a bow. "Come with me, please."

Still squeezing onto Gou's hand a reassuring manner, the couple followed him into his office, where they both sat waiting in a pair of chairs right by his working desk.

He first asked them a couple of questions to both of them as Haruka had definitely not forgotten about his role. After Gou expressed her worries of becoming possibly fertile, Doctor Honda simply acknowledged that the possibility was there; especially since they had tried for more than a year already and with no results, but reassured that even if that was the case, there were ways of getting around it quite easily. The questions that he asked related to their sexual lives, which included any problems regarding sex or previous sexually transmitted diseases. To this, both responded that they never had a problem with sex; considering that they were the only people they've ever made love with in the first place, and they were both positive neither of them had that fatality of a disease upon them.

Listening closely to her words and scrawling down a few notes, Doctor Honda then took a sample of Gou's blood; reassuring her that it would only last for a short moment. During this, Gou gave a small wince as she held Haruka's hand tightly. Haruka allowed her to squeeze his hand as tightly as she wanted, and planted a small kiss to her temple, reassuringly. Meanwhile, when the doctor took a sample of his own blood, the blue-eyed man didn't even flinch, though his right eye made a small twitch.

Then after that, Doctor Honda took the samples and began running tests in a separate room, leaving the two of them alone.

Her hands clasped together in her lap, she bit her bottom lip, and, unaware to herself, her whole frame began shaking again. Whether in fear, anticipation, the cold air from the fan or all of the above however, Haruka wasn't sure. Still, it didn't stop him from whispering to her, "Kou-chan, everything will be alright."

Upon his warmth, Gou began to relax more. She laid her head upon his broad shoulder, and the pace of her quickening heart soon began to slow down the more she focused upon his cool and composed voice as she closed her eyes to calm her nerves.

Would not being able to have kid really be so bad? Now that she thought more about it, she began to weigh the pros and cons: for one thing, it would be beautiful to have a family and it would be exciting, too. Another thing is that she heard of a lot of good things from parents that despite how tiring kids could be, it was a great achievement to be a parent – gazing at your child with such love and pride. Especially knowing that this child was from the love that stemmed between you and your lover.

However, with positives, there would always be negatives. For one thing, having a child would result in more money being needed. Though they weren't in trouble now, Gou began to wonder if she and Haruka could handle having enough for themselves as well as a child or two. Second, raising a child, though an exciting experience according to some, was exhausting for others – a good number have complained about their teenage daughter rebelling and being more catty, while the teenage sons had the possibility of going out drinking or developing some sort of defiant habit.

Thinking hard, though it was okay to have a child, Gou could see that it was fine to not have one, either. For if there was no child to worry after constantly, she and Haruka could spend more time together, and maybe even save enough to fly to somewhere for a vacation. It definitely had to be somewhere with a great view of the ocean. Perhaps Hawaii? Australia sounded nice, too – Rin would talk about the lovely beaches there: great for not only swimming, but surfing.

Besides – there was also the notion of adopting, right? Even if Gou couldn't produce her own child, she was absolutely certain that Haruka wouldn't mind adopting one. The thought of being barren was still there…however, infertility wasn't an uncommon occurrence, either.

Surfing the internet one time to seek answers as to why she and her husband were not providing results, there was a forum that spoke of such problems – the main cause usually being infertility where a baby cannot be produced via intercourse. Researching and reading more about the topic through different articles, both spoke of it being not such a rare occurrence, and described possibilities, which caused Gou to become rather disturbed and progressively believe that she was the cause of the problem.

However, with such occurrences, there were stories of real life people who dealt with the matter: some used medical techniques such as in-vitro fertilisation, others simply adopted, while others just decided to remain childless for the rest of their lives.

Thinking again carefully and as calmly as she could, her whole being began to relax as she reassured herself over and over again that things really won't be so bad if she were to be barren and infertile. Recalling the words of her husband: everything _will _be okay.

Especially with him to silently, but strongly, support her.

So with that, she murmured to her husband, "Haru-kun."

"Hm?" he cranked open his own eyes upon hearing his name.

"I'm…" she exhaled as she finally sat up in her seat, giving a small, but definite smile. "I'm okay now."

From hearing this, that small smile spread upon his own face again – whenever he was with her and she was happy, he of course couldn't help but feel her own joy himself. When she was happy; he found himself just as delighted. "That's good to hear, Kou-chan," he said sincerely, kissing her cheek, which caused her cheeks to flush a little, but for her smile to grow wider.

It was several more minutes later of the two waiting there in their own pleasant silence when Doctor Honda finally returned into the room. "I am here with the results," he said, however they both noticed that he looked rather grim and stone-faced. "And-"

"It's okay, Doctor," Gou smiled. "I'm okay with being infertile. I'm sure there are other ways to have a child, right? Besides," here, her smile spread even wider at her husband. "We're not in a hurry for kids, anyway."

"That's the thing," Doctor Honda continued as he cleared his throat. "You are unable to have children. But…"

Gou blinked; she was bracing herself for the news, but there seemed to be more to the problem? "But…?" she asked in confusion.

"I'd like to question your husband about a few more things."

Gou then arched both her eyebrows in shock, "H-Haru-kun? But, why?"

"What do you want to ask me, doctor?" questioned Haruka, looking rather surprised himself.

The next hour came as a slight blur to Haruka. He was first questioned if he could provide with another sample – but instead of blood, it would be something else more rooted to the problem. Haruka complied in the doctor's office and provided the sample, to which Doctor Honda ran tests on for a good several minutes on a machine that was processing the results. During his providing of a sample however, the doctor stared in surprise at his undergarments.

"Do you wear swimming jammers underneath your clothes all the time?" Doctor Honda inquired.

"Yes," responded Haruka, not liking how the query sounded. "Why?"

"Mr and Mrs Nanase," Doctor Honda said as Haruka dressed himself again, and sat next to his wife to hold her hand again. "I'm afraid you cannot conceive children. However, it isn't because Mrs Nanase is infertile…"

Gou's eyes widened when she saw Doctor Honda gaze pointedly at her husband.

"It's because _Mr_ Nanase is the one who's infertile."

Haruka had already began to have suspicions that it may not have been Gou but himself that was the problem the whole time – Gou herself however believed it was _her _to be the cause of the problem. She either failed to realize, did not know, or ignored the fact that infertility could also happen in men – though not as huge a number as with women. However, it was still not uncommon, either.

Still, the news straight from the doctor's mouth was just like a big, cruel slap to his cheek. His eyes widened, and his heart stopped beating, while his breath caught in his throat. His hearing grew fuzzy as the sound of the doctor's voice blocked out for a moment.

He couldn't say a word: he could only look at Gou. Her expression was one of absolute shock: her mouth was dropped open, one of her hands clasped over it, and her eyes widened so much, that the whites were even showing. When he tried to listen again, his stomach churned around unpleasantly as he gripped the chair's arm tightly and the doctor's words flowed into his ears.

"Wearing those swimming jammers all the time most likely contributed to an increased chance of infertility. Men wearing tight and restrictive clothing, such as tight underwear, skinny jeans, or athletic or swimming spandex materials cuts off circulation in the lower area, and can definitely interfere with male fertility by harming the sperm production, or overheating the testicles, or weakening the quality of sperm. And Mr Nanase is a swimmer, too, correct? Continuously bathing or swimming in hot water can also attribute by causing the scrotum to overheat, thus reducing the sperm count, and so as a result, limit male fertility."

Haruka's head bowed down as his gaze fell to the floor. The doctor's analysis of him was the only thing he was able to even catch attentively, and it was ringing and vibrating so loudly in his head like a funeral bell as the words repeated over and over again, causing his whole head to spin.

'_It's my fault,'_ he thought to himself. His breaths began to come out in small, short gasps, _'It's my fault that we can't have a child. It's my fault that we can't start a family together. It's my fault that Kou was so upset for so long. It's my fault that she cried…' _

"It's all my fault…" he stated softly.

"It's not."

Looking up, Haruka immediately caught sight of her eyes and smile. Though her face was tired and weary from all the pain, heartbreak and drama that had been caused, her crimson eyes glimmered upon settling down on her husband's obvious sorrow. She held one of his hands and tenderly squeezed it, while the other caressed some of the black bangs that stuck to his suddenly sweating forehead and grief-stricken, sapphire eyes. "It's okay that we can't have a kid, Haru-kun," she said gently.

"But-"

"There are many ways to have a kid despite infertility, right?"

Here, Doctor Honda spoke up with a nod, "Correct. There are ways for infertile couples, whether it be the man, woman or both to be infertile, to have children."

"Don't blame yourself for something like this, Haru-kun," said Gou as she gazed into his eyes steadily. Crimson against cerulean. "Because again; like what you told me so many times before – it's fine. Everything is going to be okay. Everything _will _be alright."

He wanted to believe her so badly. Still, why was it so hard for him to accept his own words?

* * *

Gazing out to the ocean from his spot on the golden sands, a pair of azure orbs ghosted over the vast expanse of the sea as the waves slowly frolicked and rolled around as the crashing coolly settled down on the man's ears. As it came climbing to shore several times, he could feel his toes getting tickled by its cold touch as he rested his chin down on his knees, and brought them closer to his chest.

"I thought I'd find you here."

Recognizing the voice at once, he simply gave a small murmur, "I was expecting you, Kou-chan."

It had been two weeks since that visit to Doctor Honda's office, but Haruka was still very disconcerted, and obviously hurting from the news of his infertility – he wouldn't go near warm water at all, and he was noticeably hesitant with wearing his swimming jammers. Despite having a talk about it first in the doctor's office, when it was raised again at home, it suddenly evolved into a more heated and tense discussion that led to an angry argument where Haruka was actually yelling a line or two for once and expressing how upset he was – the furious flame in his sapphire orbs showing and reflecting how much damage the news had caused on his being. He then coldly shut himself away to spend time alone to gather his thoughts, the black-haired man tried to get over the news, but it was still so hard.

Still, after making up the next day from the furious fight they had, Haruka knew that it was unfair to let out any of his frustrations on Gou: she wasn't the one who wanted him to be infertile; she didn't cause him to be infertile; she didn't judge or get upset at him being infertile, either. No, instead she accepted it and most especially him – like how he himself would definitely accept it if she was the one who was infertile instead, and just wanted to make sure he was fine and coping with it. Always there to hold him and for him to hold in return.

Just like how a wife should be.

Likewise, Gou knew that anyone who received the news that Haruka received would definitely suffer and become upset from it – no matter how nonchalant and indifferent they seemed to be. When he had shut himself away for a little while in the spare bedroom, she tried to calm herself down and tell herself that he was simply confused and still hurt: he didn't mean any of the words that he said to her, and that though he needed some time to recollect himself, he definitely shouldn't be left alone, especially since he was in such a hurt state.

Haruka himself didn't know what possessed him to even start yelling at her. He especially didn't know what made him shout at her to just leave him and find someone to provide her with a child. When he was left alone in the spare room to collect himself, upon how cold it was in the bed with his arms empty and the lack of that familiar being, he heavily regretted what he said, which prompted him to apologize quietly the next day.

"I wouldn't leave you for a reason like that," Gou reassured him again as she seated herself next to him on the warm sand. "You know that."

Haruka gave a small nod, though his eyes travelled down to the ocean, "I know that. It's just…" he then tilted his head to face her, "It costs a lot for the in-vitro fertilization and the insemination. And if we adopt, the child isn't biologically ours, either. Are you really okay-?"

"Haruka Nanase," Gou huffed irritated, causing Haruka to now visibly look somewhat apprehensive. "Don't tell me you're even _considering_ that I'm not okay with you being infertile! When I was upset over the possibility of being infertile, you were always reassuring me that everything was going to be okay, and that you didn't mind if things turned out that way. Of course, I believed what you said, because I love you, and we're married as a result of that!"

Seeing his eyes now spark a little from her words, however she grew a bit disappointed when they disappeared a bit and he seemed to falter. "I love you, too…" he said softly. "Still…"

"When we got married, do you know what was said last in our wedding vows before we said _'I do'_?"

After a little moment of thought, Haruka responded, "_'For better or for worse'_."

"No matter what the situation is, I'm always there for you," Gou smiled as she then rested her head on his shoulder. "And we'll overcome it somehow eventually. Remember what you said to me before? That you married me because you loved me over children? That goes the same for me: I married not because I wanted to have a family, but because I love you, and want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Upon hearing that, Haruka, for once, felt peace enter his mind and wash down his being. His shoulders relaxed and he slowly blinked his eyes a couple of times before another of his rare smiles crept on his previously hardened face. He laid his head close to hers as he said quietly, "When you were upset about possibly being infertile…I just didn't want you to be sad. Especially over a reason such as being unable to produce kids."

"Same for me to you," said Gou with a grin as she then looked at him, prompting him to lift his head and look down at her, too. "We're not in a hurry for kids, anyway."

"For better or for worse," he murmured fondly as he leaned slightly closer to her face.

She gave a small giggle as her cheeks reddened slightly, "For better or for worse." And with that, she closed the gap between them by joining their lips together.

* * *

**The law of inverse fertility comes in two types - Type 1 and Type 2:  
Type 2: If a couple is _not _trying to conceive, the woman will get pregnant more easily.  
Type 1: On the other hands, if a couple tries hard to conceive a child, the less likely they will actually conceive.**

**I must also say...Haruka is _really _hard to write down. Though I know what he's like (and he's not so hard to draw since with the serious face and similarly sharp eyes, he's like Nyo!Vietnam), it's harder to express him in words. TT7TT so, I apologise if he's OOC. Also, can somebody spot a guest appearing in this? Hint: APH.**

**Reviews are gladly appreciated. And please, no flaming on the pairings in this story. I'm not exactly in the mood to slay rabids.**

**Peace out!  
- Hebi-Kazechi-10**


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